When their home-schooling is over, many students have the chance to go to college. But not all define success the same way.
 Lacy Brown takes a home-schooling class in Ben Lomond. Lucjan Szewczyk/Press-Banner
For home-schooled students and students who complete the majority of their education outside a traditional classroom, success is measured in any of these ways and more.
For Ivanna Bertsch, a 22-year-old who was home-schooled second grade through 12th grade, success was finding a job that fit her interests.
Bertsch attended classes at Cabrillo College to supplement her education and became certified as a doula, a woman who provides care and assists before, during and after childbirth.
At the same time, she tutored home-school families.
She didn’t stop there. Bertsch found a job working in the office at a Christian school in San Jose that led to a teaching position — in a classroom — with kindergartners and first-graders.
“I think it will be a challenge,” Bertsch said, pointing to managing a classroom environment as the most difficult aspect of her new job.
Success can come in many forms, something Bertsch seems to embody, and something for which home-schooled students strive.
The college question
Despite rising tuition costs and competitive admissions, colleges and universities in the area treat home-schooled students much like any other students looking to attend the institution.
“If there is an area that has really taken off, this is it,” said Michael McCawley, acting director of admissions at University of California, Santa Cruz.
McCawley acknowledged that there are many types of students who apply, and even those applicants without an official high school transcript can attend the university if accepted.
If a student doesn’t have a transcript from an accredited high school, the university will first look at SAT and ACT scores, McCawley said. Then, if the student meets the UC standards, he or she will be admitted even without an official transcript.
 Twins Angelina and Jenna DiNapoli prepare for the day’s lessons in their living room. Lucjan Szewczyk/Press-Banner
If a student cannot meet the automatic admittance standards, they must apply using the standard process and make a case for themselves by writing an explanation of their high school education.
The admissions office looks for a “compelling education,” McCawley said, that suggests the student will be successful at the university level. The office looks for course titles and descriptions that show strenuous course work and personal accomplishments.
Often, McCawley said, students will have jumped around from public to private to charter to home school. In those cases, he said, it is important to explain why they made the change and what they were looking for.
“We are trying to get a picture of the whole candidate,” McCawley said. “If we admit them, do we believe they will be successful UC students?”
Bethany University in Scotts Valley admits between five and 10 home-schooled students each year, but it would like to increase that number, said Director of Admissions Charles Riley.
Bethany treats home-schooled students the same as any other students. To apply, students must submit a writing sample, letters of recommendation and SAT or ACT scores, unless they don’t have an official transcript.
In that case, the university requires the student to take an Ability-to-Benefit test to demonstrate their ability to succeed at the college level.
Cabrillo College classes are an option that many home-schooled students in the San Lorenzo Valley take, either to supplement their education or to get their college careers jump-started.
The Scotts Valley campus offers a library class at Scotts Valley High School that some students take. Others travel to the Aptos campus and take math, science, language and history classes, among other special-interest coursework.
To take classes at Cabrillo, said Assistant Director of Admissions Masinafanaae Hunnicutt, a home-schooled student must have his or her principal — which can be a parent, if the parent has
registered with the county as a private school — sign a school release form allowing the student to attend classes at the college.
Vocation or continued education
“Every kid is not a scholar, but every kid has the opportunity to be a happy, contributing citizen,” said Sue Murphy, a teacher for the Scotts Valley Independent Study and Home-School program. “I want my students to feel like they can do anything.”
Some students want to go to college, while others find success in vocational work.
 Nova Ford, Avery Zaurin and Parker Langston play before class at Boulder Creek’s South Street Center. While these home-schooled students’ educational futures are clear through high school, big questions await when deciding on a college or profession. Lucjan Szewczyk/Press-Banner
Fein often hears that her former students are achieving things in the local community and on a larger scale.
“We try to keep track of our kids,” she said. “They just do such diverse things.”
Success, though, might be measured not only by what vocation or education a student achieves.
“Home-schoolers tend to develop a love of reading,” said Murphy. “They read much more (than many other kids).”
McCawley paints a picture of the success rate of home-schoolers he’s seen at the UC.
“As a cohort, over many, many years, they are on par with students that are not home-schooled,” McCawley said.
For her part, Bertsch enjoyed her time as a home-schooled student and looks forward to the future with an eye to the past.
“My parents always loved me, no matter how well or how badly I did,” she said. “It didn’t matter. They still think I’m really, really, really cool.”
- This is the last in the Press-Banner’s series on home schooling. To comment on this story, e-mail reporter Peter Burke at
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